Pasta con la Bottarga really is for everyone. Before you start to tell us that you don’t like fishy flavors, hear us out: we have served this dish to people who didn’t even realize they were eating fish! This pasta dish is a true marriage of Mediterranean flavors. The bottarga is what brings them all together with its umami flavor. SO umami.
Nota bene: you can make it now and eat it later! We love this recipe and use it as a go-to dish for guests. You can stop after step 2, put it in the fridge, and start with step 3 the next day. Just make sure to let the sauce return to room temperature.
Ingredients
SERVES: 4-5 people
TIME: 30 minutes
- Spaghetti or Linguine Faella, 1 bag (500 gr/1.1 lbs)
- Whole Mullet Bottarga, 1/2 (60gr/2 oz)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Sardegna, 6 tablespoons
- Lemons, 2, zested
- Lemon juice, 2 tablespoons
- Garlic, 1 clove, minced
- Parsley, 1/2 cup, finely chopped
- Chili peppers, 1 teaspoon or to taste
- Salted Capers, rinsed (25 gr/0.8 oz), optional
- Sea salt, to taste
Preparation
- Peel away the outer layer and finely grate the bottarga.
- In a serving bowl, mix bottarga, EVOO, capers, and lemon juice + zest, garlic, parsley, and chili pepper.
- Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente (approx. 8 minutes).
- Drain the pasta, saving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Put the pasta inside the serving bowl and stir all the ingredients together. To increase the creaminess, pour (one teaspoon at a time) some pasta water and a splash of EVOO and continue stirring.
- Serve immediately and finish by grating more Bottarga on each plate.